"Sugar" Rashad Evans will make his first light heavyweight title defense on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Evans, who has never lost a fight in his professional mixed martial arts career, is being listed as an 8 to 5 betting odds underdog at SBGglobal.com in the UFC 98 headliner on May 23rd.
Rashad Evans, who captured the light heavyweight title in December of 2008 by scoring a TKO against Forrest Griffin in the third round, was scheduled to make his first title defense against former champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. However, an injury to Jackson bumped the undefeated Machida into the challenger slot on Saturday night's card. For his part, Evans believes Machida is every bit as big a test as Jackson, possibly even more so.
"Lyoto is much more of a difficult and complicated fight than Rampage is," Evans said. "Stylistically, techincally, Lyoto is better than Rampage is."
Odds makers apparantly feel the same way about Machida, considering the Brazilian is a favorite in this weekend's fight with Evans. Many have speculated that Machida's unorthodox use of Karate and his wait and see approach could pose a major problem for The Ultimate Fighter 2 champion. Evans begs to differ, in spite of his insistence that Lyoto his "better than Rampage."
"[His style] doesn't present problems. Watching someone fight and breaking them down, sometimes the best ammunition is just knowing what you can do well and seeing that you'll be able to do that," Evans said. "So, I am not worried about game planning at all."
Evans, who has beaten the likes of Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell in addition to Griffin, does not seemed to be bothered by his underdog status either.
"I don't take it personal," Evans said. "It doesn't really matter to me either way. It is not the first time I have been the underdog. I haven't lost yet so..."
SBGglobal.com UFC 98: Rashad Evans 8 to 5 Betting Odds
Rashad Evans (8/5) vs Lyoto Machida (1/2)
Visit SBGglobal.com today to get the latest odds on UFC 98: Evans vs Machida and get down on your favorite to win the light heavyweight championship fight.
